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Architects Jim Landin, left, and Mike Gorman of GGL Architecture in Bend formed their firm in 2004 and are weathering the recession with work on public projects.
Pete Erickson / The Bulletin
Back to basics
Amid slow business climate, GGL Architecture is utilizing its time to learn more about green building - or what used to be called just ‘good architecture,’ according to one of the firm’s principals
By Andrew Moore / The Bulletin
Published: November 24. 2009 4:00AM PSTThe recession has taken a toll on many of Central Oregon’s construction businesses, and GGL Architecture of Bend is no exception.
Faced with dwindling design opportunities, the firm that drafted plans for the new Oxford Hotel downtown, the west-side Bend Memorial Clinic and a portion of the Mill Quarter had to cut costs.
Principals Mike Gorman and Jim Landin trimmed their employees from 15 to seven and moved out of the office building they built for their company, preferring to lease it out rather than pay for space they no longer need.
But Gorman and Landin, both graduates of the University of Oregon’s architecture program, are optimistic their firm will weather the storm.
Landin said that in every recession, architects retrench and learn new skills.
In the ’80s, it was learning how to replace freehand design with computers. This time, he said, it’s incorporating green and sustainable building ideas into architecture, such as designing more energy-efficient buildings with more locally available materials. Ironically, those aren’t new principles, Gorman said, but public perception and demand for greener technology are steering architects back to their profession’s roots.
“It used to be called just ‘good architecture,’” he said, reflecting on past years when architects had to factor in microclimates and local materials before innovations in modern construction enabled architects to conquer nature rather than work with it.
“All the things that used to be called good design were overcome with mechanical design, but now you can do the same things again,” he said.
The firm’s workload has dipped significantly with the recession. Landin and Gorman said most private projects have been put on hold or canceled, mostly because developers can’t secure financing. The firm also is racking up legal bills trying to collect money from developers who commissioned work but haven’t paid, Gorman said.
Public projects, however, such as schools, are keeping the firm going. GGL is designing a renovation for Three Rivers School in Sunriver and is hopeful the recently passed Central Oregon Community College bond will provide more work.
Landin and Gorman discussed other aspects of their company, which they founded in Bend in 2004, in an interview with The Bulletin.
Q: Besides the layoffs and office consolidation, how has the recession affected your line of work?
A: Gorman: More firms are vying for less work and coming from greater distances, sometimes from the (Willamette) Valley or Idaho, so the competition is greater, which makes the fees drop.
Q: How have the state and federal stimulus efforts helped your firm, if at all?
A: Gorman: It (helped) the guys that do asphalt and roadways, it kept them strong, but I haven’t seen any of that trickle down.
Landin: One of the big pieces of the stimulus was to go back and make federal buildings more sustainable, but there was one (building) in Oregon, in Portland.
Q: With the slowdown in private construction spending, where do you foresee opportunity in the coming months or years?
A: Landin: Taking old buildings, and making them green. Building new stuff might take a back seat for a while, so taking buildings built (before the) oil crisis of the ’70s — and even newer buildings — and making them more energy efficient. There’s a huge inventory of buildings out there that will see a rejuvenation, I think, because greener buildings end up being less expensive due to fewer utility costs and owners and tenants are zeroing in on that.
Q: Does your firm have a particular design style it adheres to?
A: Gorman: We really don’t. We design to our client’s vision. I have a story I always tell. I was working with a client and we were driving around (Bend) looking at buildings and he pointed out three buildings he liked and I sat there smiling because we designed all three. One of our challenges as architects is to make it seem like the client is the one who designed the building and if they think we helped them create that vision, we did our job well. We try to be non-ego architects.
Q: Do you both draft still, or are you out hustling new business, or is it a mix of both?
A: Gorman: We’re actually working principals. We draft still, we get on a computer and draw. We like to keep that hands-on approach to how we operate.
Q: What’s been the hardest part of getting through this recession?
A: Gorman: The toughest thing has been letting go of lots of good employees. The next toughest part is getting by on reduced income, but it is what it is.
Landin: This is typical in the architecture profession. Keep in mind, we are (involved) prior to construction and lots of contractors are asking us what we’re working on and we tell them it’s likely going to be a bleak summer, but I don’t think Mike or I would rather be someplace else right now. Central Oregon has potential lots of other places don’t have.
Andrew Moore can be reached at 541-617-7820 or amoore@bendbulletin.com.
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